Former ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8′ Editor Charged With “Sexual Exploit of a Minor”
William ‘Bill’ Blankinship, the 56-year-old former editor of the reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8, has been charged with 10 counts of sexual exploit of a minor. He was arrested on October 21 after the North Carolina State Bureau Investigation wrapped up their ‘Operation Spyglass’ sting where 24 men were all charged with felonies that included possession and distribution of child pornography and/or sexual acts with a minor.
Bill’s resume included working on other shows that featured children, such as Kate Plus 8, 17 Kids and Counting and Table for 12. The arrest report states:
William is charged with 10 counts of “sex exploit of minor (3rd) 14-1,” which means he possessed material that contained a visual representation of a minor engaging in sexual activity.
He is being held without bond, and a spokesperson for the FBI explains:
“Usually when that happens, they’re under the authority of the U.S. Marshals until they are sentenced and convicted, and then they’d be sent to a Federal prison.”
TLC, the network that hosts the shows that Bill worked on, quickly released a statement saying that the felon was never directly employed by them but came in through a subcontractor of the production company:
“Bill Blankinship was employed by Serious Robots, with whom Figure 8 Films subcontract for editing services. Upon learning of the shocking allegations his employment was terminated. At no time was this man ever in the field or in direct contact with any of the talent for any of our productions.”
Back in 2009, Jon Gosselin voiced his disgust with himself for placing his children on television for the world to see, saying:
“I put my kids out there to every pedophile on the planet and they never got paid for it.”
